Pakistan Sources Allege India Planning ‘False-Flag’ Attacks In Kashmir

In a written order issued Monday, Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar instructed the Interior Ministry, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the Directorate General of Immigration, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the police to respond before the next hearing.

The ruling came after the Afghans petitioned the court, arguing that their Proof of Registration (PoR) cards had been revoked earlier this month. Their lawyers said the government cancelled the cards on 4 August and ordered deportations. They added the group belongs to the family of a man named Fazlur Rahman, who applied for Pakistani citizenship in 2008 after meeting all legal requirements, but whose case has never been resolved.

The court barred authorities from taking any forced action against the petitioners and said they must not be expelled until further notice. The case was adjourned until 18 September.

The decision comes as Pakistan intensifies efforts to expel undocumented Afghans. The government first launched deportations in 2023, leading to more than one million Afghans leaving the country. In recent weeks, authorities began a second phase of removals, returning thousands of Afghans to their homeland.

At the same time, Islamabad has suspended visa extensions for Afghan migrants, leaving even those with legal documents unable to renew their stay.

Several Afghans in Islamabad told Afghanistan International that after months of waiting, their applications were denied despite submitting all required documents. They said most of the rejected cases involved medical and tourist visas.

Obaidullah, an Afghan who has lived in Pakistan for three years, said he recently received an email notifying him that his visa extension had been refused without reason. He added that since early 2025, when Pakistan reduced visas for Afghans to one month, he had repeatedly applied before expiry, but his latest request was left pending for three months before being denied.

Another migrant, Tabasum Ahmadi, said her medical visa was also rejected. She noted that Afghans in Pakistan face mounting difficulties but many cannot return to Afghanistan due to safety concerns.

The Afghan Council in Islamabad confirmed reports of widespread denials. Its head, Maiwand Alami Afghan, said about 80 percent of medical visa requests and 10 percent of tourist visa requests had recently been turned down. A travel agent also reported that very few Afghan visas were being approved.

Pakistani officials have not commented on this so far.

In recent months, Pakistan has tightened its immigration policy toward Afghans. The government suspended the extension of Afghan visas two months ago and has vowed to expel all undocumented migrants. Authorities have also announced plans to begin deporting 1.4 million Afghans holding “Proof of Registration” cards from 1 September.

The newspaper said Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi raised concerns with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, during a meeting in Kabul on 20 August. Sources cited by the paper suggested the Taliban regime was displeased that Afghan opposition members had been invited by the Islamabad-based South Asian Strategic Stability Institute, leading to the delay.

The report added that Muttaqi also voiced his opposition to the meeting on the sidelines of a recent trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of the Taliban, China and Pakistan, also held in Kabul.

Earlier, two sources told Afghanistan International that the delay was linked to visa issuance problems for participants. One attendee, however, said the meeting was now expected to take place in Pakistan in the final week of September.

According to information obtained by Afghanistan International, invitees to the gathering include Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s representative in Geneva; Mustafa Mastoor, former economy minister; Fawzia Koofi, women’s rights activist and former MP; Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar; Hossein Yasa, spokesperson of the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan; Zahra Joya, founder of Rukhshana Media; and Mawlawi Abdullah Qarluq, former governor of Takhar.

The conference has already been postponed three times. Initially scheduled for 25–26 June, it was pushed back to 25–26 July, then to 25–26 August, before being postponed again.

In a statement on Sunday, 24 August, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice said the land in Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital, had been registered as “Emarati” or state-owned land during a meeting of its Committee for Preventing Land Usurpation. The ministry said the case concerning 1,406 acres has been referred to the central commission for a final ruling.

The Taliban have established the Commission for Preventing Land Usurpation and Restoring Seized Lands, tasked with reclaiming what they describe as state property from “land usurpers.” Officials claim large areas in Kabul and other provinces have already been reclassified as government-owned.

No independent body exists in Afghanistan to hear complaints from citizens who allege the Taliban are forcibly seizing private property under the guise of land reclamation.

Klobuchar is among nine senators backing the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, introduced earlier this month after reports that some evacuees were facing possible deportation. Immigration officials have begun detaining Afghan refugees brought to the United States after the 2021 withdrawal whose asylum claims remain unresolved.

“We must stand by the Afghans who stood with us in the war,” Klobuchar wrote on X on Sunday. “Veterans are standing with our Afghan allies as Battle Buddies volunteers. Now Congress needs to step in and pass my bipartisan bill to ensure they can put down roots here and continue contributing to our communities.”

The legislation, co-sponsored by Democrats Klobuchar, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen, along with Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy and Mike Rounds, would create a clear pathway to green cards for Afghans who supported US missions and were relocated after the Taliban takeover.

Many of those evacuees currently live in the United States under humanitarian parole. Some, however, have been told to return to Afghanistan. The Trump administration has argued that conditions in Afghanistan do not warrant further protection, citing security concerns to oppose expedited resettlement.

The bill follows another bipartisan proposal, the Enduring Welcome Act, introduced on 19 August by four House members seeking to revive and codify the relocation programme for Afghan partners.